Roanoke holds off Asheville

By Michael HughesTimes-News Correspondent

Published: Wednesday, January 22, 2003 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 22, 2003 at 12:00 a.m.

ASHEVILLE -- Asheville ran into red-hot Roanoke at the Civic Center Tuesday night before falling in a thriller that went down to the final seconds. The Dazzle was sizzling from the outset but had to hold on to defeat the determined Altitude by a trey, 87-84.

Down by 12 with only 3:45 to go, Asheville (10-18) pulled to within three on three different occasions with under a minute to play -- the last time on an Eddie Gill reverse layup in heavy traffic with 9.5 seconds remaining. But Roanoke's Cory Alexander -- a former Virginia Cavalier -- sank two free throws to push the margin back to five.

Altitude guard Luke Recker's two free throws ended the effort for the Altitude as time expired.

Roanoke was energized by some torrid shooting from 6-7 forwards Gabe Muoneke (24 points) and Terrence Shannon (22), while Gill matched Muoneke with a game-high 24 points to go with eight assists and some sticky defensive play for four quarters.

"I thought Eddie Gill played really well and had a fine game," said Asheville head coach Joey Meyer. "He did a great job of getting the ball to some people. In fact, this game was as good as we've executed offensively in a while. It's just that they were in a great rhythm and we couldn't shut them down. They shot beyond the defense."

Muoneke and Shannon scored 15 of Roanoke's 22 first-quarter points to help build an early five-point advantage for the visiting Dazzle (14-12), which has won seven of its last eight games to move to within one of league-leading Fayetteville. Despite allowing Roanoke to scorch the nets at a 60-percent clip through three quarters, Asheville hung close and was down only nine at 67-58 after three periods.

With the agile and wiry Shannon drilling baskets from every angle despite tight defensive pressure, fans kept coming up to the press area to inquire about his mounting point totals.

"He hit some great shots. That was (NBA leading scorer) Tracy McGrady tonight," Meyer said. "We were defending him well, and we kept trying to find a way to stop him. You've really got to give them some credit.

"But I'm pleased with how we hung in there -- we didn't give up. At this point we're just good enough to lose some close games. (The Dazzle) are so confident right now, and we're on the other end of the spectrum."

<p>ASHEVILLE -- Asheville ran into red-hot Roanoke at the Civic Center Tuesday night before falling in a thriller that went down to the final seconds. The Dazzle was sizzling from the outset but had to hold on to defeat the determined Altitude by a trey, 87-84.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>Down by 12 with only 3:45 to go, Asheville (10-18) pulled to within three on three different occasions with under a minute to play -- the last time on an Eddie Gill reverse layup in heavy traffic with 9.5 seconds remaining. But Roanoke's Cory Alexander -- a former Virginia Cavalier -- sank two free throws to push the margin back to five.</p><p>Altitude guard Luke Recker's two free throws ended the effort for the Altitude as time expired.</p><p>Roanoke was energized by some torrid shooting from 6-7 forwards Gabe Muoneke (24 points) and Terrence Shannon (22), while Gill matched Muoneke with a game-high 24 points to go with eight assists and some sticky defensive play for four quarters.</p><p>"I thought Eddie Gill played really well and had a fine game," said Asheville head coach Joey Meyer. "He did a great job of getting the ball to some people. In fact, this game was as good as we've executed offensively in a while. It's just that they were in a great rhythm and we couldn't shut them down. They shot beyond the defense."</p><p>Muoneke and Shannon scored 15 of Roanoke's 22 first-quarter points to help build an early five-point advantage for the visiting Dazzle (14-12), which has won seven of its last eight games to move to within one of league-leading Fayetteville. Despite allowing Roanoke to scorch the nets at a 60-percent clip through three quarters, Asheville hung close and was down only nine at 67-58 after three periods.</p><p>With the agile and wiry Shannon drilling baskets from every angle despite tight defensive pressure, fans kept coming up to the press area to inquire about his mounting point totals.</p><p>"He hit some great shots. That was (NBA leading scorer) Tracy McGrady tonight," Meyer said. "We were defending him well, and we kept trying to find a way to stop him. You've really got to give them some credit.</p><p>"But I'm pleased with how we hung in there -- we didn't give up. At this point we're just good enough to lose some close games. (The Dazzle) are so confident right now, and we're on the other end of the spectrum."</p><p>Asheville plays at the Civic Center Friday and Saturday.</p>